Hye, i'm searching for a cheap fm transmitter. I need a very small station, it only has to reach 1 km. I need the smallst, easyst, and cheapst!
I don't know anything about, i just know i needt a all in one thing, to have my own radio station, whitout a computer!!! and a very very small antenna! Can somebody help me?

Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:17 pm

pcsSite master

Joined: 18 Jan 2002Posts: 3098Location: Radio Land

very very small antenna = very very small range

very very small transmitter = usually based on BA chip,
producing many in-band spurs & harmonics reaching out into
nearby channels, which is likely to generate complaints and
draw attention from the authorities. BA chips were designed
for CD players and similar, not serious broadcasting.

There are a number of prepared packages including antenna,
power supply etc.

Whether 1W is enough or not depends a lot on your terrain
configuration and antenna type and location.

Anyway, Cyber MAX LCD seems quite well suited for this application,
you can turn the power down all the way to zero, if necessary. It
can give you up to about 5-7W, if necessary, so you've got a bit of
a safety margin in case it turns out you need more power.

ok, all that stuff seems to be verry well, but the problem is the price!!! Is there anything cheaper? or are there any older things i can find for a smaller price?

There are cheaper, but your unlikely to be satisfied with the result.

Some of the 1 Watt transmitters available are VERY cheap. The problem is that many of them are very poorly built - not a great deal of care goes into them. You can also find some quite excellent 1 Watt transmitters but the price may seem inordinately high.

Unfortunately, you're in a boarding school which implies a lot of walls and an antenna which is probably in your dormitory (as opposed to mounted on a roof clear of obstructions with a good view to the horizon) This means that you need a reasonable power... a discrete antenna... and a lot of luck.

You risk interference with televisions and other equipment. You will find that a lot of power will simply be absorbed into the buildings superstructure. For these reasons I'd suggest a good strong transmitter with excellent characteristics. Variable power is a must because you want to use just enough to get the job done whilst minimising any disruption that inevitably results from poor antenna placement.

In actual fact the transmitter PCS recommended is pretty much exactly what you're looking for. I'd advise against looking for cheap 1 Watt units because you're not going to get the results you want - nor should you go for a fixed wattage model because without the ability to attenuate your output signal you could end up stirring up trouble... not good if you're trying to be discrete... even worse if you've managed to gain a wary permission.